More on the Road

Thought I would share some additional on the road photos and commentaries.  While it may appear that I (Pat) was not involved, someone had to record these events.  We are having a great time. 

 

 

For the past several weeks our dining room has become one of several staging areas in the house for the trip.  At first it was just the floor and then it just spread to any flat surface available.





 

We made sure the priority items had a prominent place so as not to be left behind.

 

Now that we have everything, how do we fit it in?

 

Final fueling begins.

No trip can begin without final clearance and inspection!



 

No way are you leaving without us this time.

 

 

 

Driving Red Rider down the road somewhere between here and there.

 



 

A little after dinner activity........

 

 

A little after dark activity.

 

Our second campsite outside at 9000' outside of Santa Fe.  We spent 2 nights here and had couple of nice chats with Marcos, the park ranger.

 

 

Camping wasn't all work.

 

 

Our first campsite in Oklahoma, just outside Oklahoma City.

 

 

 

Can't camp without a camp fire!

Our first restaurant meal of the week in Santa Fe. 

 



 

The continental divide on Route 66.  Couldn't help ourselves, even went to the gift shop across the road.

 

We have had good weather all the way with just a little rain outside of St. Louis.  One construction related delay just north of Columbus that cost us an hour, but overall traffic has been fairly light as we are early in the season.



Week in Review

 

On the Road Again :-)

 

 

Before we headed west I called Boyerts and asked if I needed

to clean out my gardens or could I wait till the end of the month.

Can you guess the answer?  Unfortunately, I only got the front

gardens done.

 

 

Packing was a puzzle.  Hot and Cold?  Camping and Hotel?

Clean up clothes and set up camp clothes?  Don't

pack too much - but what if it snows...or is 80?

 

Stopped for one last good-bye and hit the road.

Only an hour late, but then there was the hour delay in Columbus.

 

Zoomed through St. Louis and spent the first night in a hotel.

 

Next day we headed into Oklahoma.  This was an unusually nice Welcome Center.

 

Our first night of camping was in the Red Rocks State Park.

Considering we haven't camped in years and years, things went pretty well.

We had a little trouble with the tent, but not too bad.   We put the electric

to good use even without an RV.  

 

We were like pros when we got to Santa Fe where we spent 2 nights

in the Hyde Memorial State Park. 

 

We spent a beautiful day checking out the Santa Fe arts scene -

pretty impressive!!  Gallery after gallery after gallery...

It was like going to 3 museums in one day.

 

Hit the road again - It was free of debris, pleasantly curvy, and

the landscape was awesome.

 

We stopped along the way at the  Laguna Pueblo where

we met Alfred, who gave us a tour of this

stunning 17th century mission.

 

 

We drove through the Painted Canyon National Park and

the Petrified forest.

 

What a day!  Late that night, we pulled into our hotel

in Flagstaff and pretty much fell asleep.

 

The next day, we drove through Sedona to the little town of Jerome.

It was once a thriving Copper mining town.  When the mining dried up, most

everyone moved away and then the hippies moved in.  Today it is a

"destination" arts community.  There were a lot of art lovers visiting on Saturday!!

This picture is taken from above the town.

 

That evening, we went out to dinner in a real restaurant without the dogs.

No, Pat is not praying, just wishing I would stop with the pictures already.

 

Dogs have been great, the truck is running well (no comment on gas mileage)

Camping was fun...and so is staying in hotels.

Great scenery, lots of curvy roads and no debris on the road!

(unless you count one dead coyote) 

All in all, a great week one.

 

Pulled  into Adam and LeAnna's about lunchtime today (Sunday) 

Stay tuned for more.

 

Love you all.

Prepping the Truck for the Trip West

 I have been waiting for a reasonably mild weather day to get it done before we head west.  Friday started out mild, but gradually cooled down as the day went on.  I was however able to not only finish the cutting and fitting of the truck bed, but I also installed the hitch-mounted bike rack and made repairs to the snow

blower with parts I ordered weeks ago.  So following a pattern of blogs developed by Keith, here is the process.

 

 

We wanted to refine the storage capacity and the ability to sleep in the truck if necessary.  After studying some online projects others had done and spending some time at Home Depot perusing materials, I decided to do a simple panel system with center support made from 3/4" particle board with melamine laminate both sides.  It came in 3 widths which I adapted for the dimensions of the truck bed.

 

With the first piece cut and placed Karen and Maggie decided to check out the potential sleeping arrangement.  It  appears they will fit.



 

The first 2 pieces went as planned, however the third piece proved too large to be able to be angled in to place.



I tried to make it work to minimize pieces and joints, but in the end I ripped it down the middle and it fit like a glove.  It may even be for the best as it makes all the pieces more manageable for removal when necessary.

 



 

I made the center support similar to an I-beam.  It worked as intended with the exception of sliding around while I drove around town.  I am reasonably certain that once the platform is loaded the sliding around will cease.  I am however making a couple of modifications to reduce/eliminate the sliding.  The next step is to purchase a couple of roll-out containers for under the platform and call it good for this trip.

 

 

We debated whether to take our bikes on the trip and when I found this hitch at a reasonable price we decided to take them along.

 

 

Saturday we got dumped on again!  Fortunately with the repairs made the snow blower was up and ready for the challenge again.

 

 

I grilled chicken Friday night which is why the cover wasn't back on!  Hopefully the last snow for the season.  Headed west.

 

 

A little of this, a little of that............

It has been a while since I (Pat) have posted.  We were still in Greece when I last posted and we have been home since the middle of January.  With the weather being as miserable as can be, I have had some time to look through all the pictures I took and found some that we haven't posted.  So that being said, enjoy.



We spent the last weekend in Greece doing some final site-seeing in Thessaloniki.  Jill was still with us and it was Artemis' first extended tour of her birth city.

 

Jill & Artemis getting acquainted.

Snug as a bug...........

On Saturday we took a cab the far end of the harbor walk and walked back to the city center.  The temps were in the 60's and the water very calm with little breeze.  We saw a couple of folks paddle boarding.

 

Part way back we stopped for lunch at a dock club and spent a couple of hours eating, drinking, talking and just generally enjoying the day. 

Ian explaining the importance of the index finger to Eleftheria!

 

Sharing our afternoon experience.

I wanted to get a little perspective on our trip.

 

Alexander looking good (great?).

...........in a rug.

 

Airport limo.

 

 

 

 

Fast forward a few weeks after our arrival back home and we headed to Ithaca for a long weekend.  Always a enjoyable trip as we really enjoy the city and we get to visit with Keith and Sarah.

 

 

Keith has converted a part of a spare room into his workshop.  To make it work he has built a workbench and tool storage.

 

 

He has chronicled the installation on his blog, but I thought it needed additional recognition.

 

 

I have always enjoyed this bookshelf in their entryway and this display in particular.

 

 

 

Dinner time?

 

 

Why are you taking my picture?

 

 

Aunt Sarah and Zhora